Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Bought by Cetera Advisors LLC

Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,495 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 887 shares during the quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Robbins Farley acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 247 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $184.98 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $170.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.92. The company has a market cap of $52.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $191.41.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.99 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 18.81% and a net margin of 8.18%. As a group, analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 5.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $194.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Friday, September 15th. StockNews.com raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Ecolab from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 20th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Ecolab from $207.00 to $187.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Ecolab from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $194.64.

Ecolab Profile

Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Global Industrial, Global Institutional & Specialty, and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences segments. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries.